


Sunset Garden

by Lily_Silvergarden



Series: The Truth of the World [1]
Category: Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:41:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22263538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lily_Silvergarden/pseuds/Lily_Silvergarden
Summary: The end of a timeline, the start of another. What changes await in this new timeline? Ritsuka thought she was going to die in the blast that almost destroyed Chaldea only to be saved.
Relationships: Fujimaru Ritsuka/Merlin | Caster
Series: The Truth of the World [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1602625
Comments: 3
Kudos: 61





	1. The End or the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> The PJO fic is going to be placed on hold for a while as this one is connected to that one and I have to get this one up to that one.

Chapter 1

Everything was on fire. Ritsuka had been waiting to join B team as A team was going through the rayshift when everything exploded. Even she had been blasted straight out of her closing coffin. Her ears were ringing with the constant alarms going off. Why couldn’t she stand?

“I...I need to get out here.” 

“Rayshift imminent! Repeat Rayshift imminent!” 

The doors to the only exist slid open as a black haired boy ran in. Why would anybody run into danger? He should be running away! The fires around her seemed to be growing. Was she going to die here?

“Quickly, you must make a contract with me.” A rough masculine voice whispered into her ear. 

“Please..help me....” 

“That will have to do.” A large hand grabbed hers as soft lips met her own and her world faded in light and fire as mana flooded her system.

The first thing she saw was white. Maybe she had died...unless pain followed death than she was very much alive. It was fluffy like a cloud but really soft. 

“I’m glad I made it in time.” That voice again. Gold eyes met purple and she would never admit that she squeaked if she were to be asked about this moment in the future.

“Where are we?” Good thing she was 90% sure she was still alive or she would have thought she had ended up in some kind of hell. The sky seemed to be on fire and for a city it was...bleak as if the very life had been sucked out of it. Wait a moment...the boy!

“There was a boy in the room with me? Did he get out okay?” Unfortunately Ritsuka hadn’t seen what the boy had been running to. The pain was lessening for some reason.

“They were in the care of a friend when the Rayshift pulled us both away. Oh for now you may call me Caster.” So this was a servant. They had been told they would be doing summonings once they entered the singularity, not before it. She wasn’t expecting someone so...fluffy.

The man, no Caster, helped her to stand. Now what were they supposed to do? A team had already been briefed on their role but the explosion happened just as the director was getting ready to address B team.

“My name is Ritsuka, its nice to meet you Caster.” What was that light? A quick reinforcement to her eyes quickly let her know that yes that light was a lot of arrow and yes they were heading straight for them. She could barely blink before Caster was in front of her with a pink barrier blocking the onslaught of arrows. 

“It seems someone intervened.” Caster said when the barrage stopped. 

“Someone help me!!” 

“That sounds like the director!” Ritsuka took off towards the voice. She didn’t need to look back to know that Caster was following her. Though the brief glance at his face troubled her. He seemed bothered by something. 

It was most definitely the director and she was being pursued by...skeletons? What in the world was going on in this crazy place? How fast was the director running to get this far away from when she called for help? Mana flooded the magic circuits in her leg as she launched herself at the nearest skeleton and delivered a reinforced kick to its head completely shattering it. 

It didn’t take long between Caster and herself to clear out the enemy skeletons. Maybe it was due to just being healed but her mana was flowing much easier today.

“Director! You made it here too. And there’s not a scratch on you.” Ritsuka was almost positive that Olga Marie had been in the room when the explosion went off.

“Ritsuka from B-team? And a servant?” 

“Yes, we made a contract right before the system rayshifted us here. This is Caster.” 

“He hasn’t told you his true name? Without it, you won’t know what his noble phantasm is or when it should be deployed.”

Beep Beep

“Gudao! Wait you aren’t Gudao!” The red haired man seemed to have been expecting someone else. Maybe Gudao was that black haired boy?

“Romani Archaman what are you doing in that chair?” 

“Director you are alive!?” There was that troubled look again. She really wanted to know what was going on inside his head.

“What has happened to the 46 other Masters in the coffins?”

“They are in critical condition. 80% of Chaldea was destroyed in the blast including the staff.” 

“What are you waiting for?! Put them in cryogenics right now! Even you have you to divert the remaining power to do it!”

“Right!”

“Oh and I would hurry and help the boy and girl who weren’t in coffins.” Oh right the boy wasn’t a master so he wouldn’t been rayshifted. There went Dr. Roman. While sort of being forced into Chaldea, it was nice to know that Olga Marie wasn’t a typical mage and that she actually cared about those under her.

“Well we should get a move on. No support or reinforcements and someone wont tell us his true name!” Please don’t point fingers that can can shoot magic at someone, Miss Animusphere. 

“I’m not intentionally hiding it because I have a great weakness. Rather because a certain someone would have difficulty accepting my help were they to know who I am.” 

That was...odd. Who wouldn’t want his help? He had been really useful so far from healing and protecting her. Caster sent her a gentle smile as they moved to follow the still grumbling Olga Marie.

The wristlets around Ritsuka’s arm began to flash grabbing everyone’s attention. Olga looked ready to scold Romani again but...

“Servant incoming!” It was too fast. Even with reinforced eyes, Ritsuka couldn’t see the enemy targeting her. However she was able to see the pink barrier once again stopping the enemy. He...was really good with magic, even with just barriers. They were up before one could even blink.

“it seems an interesting prey has wandered into my territory.”The woman seemed to be focusing solely on Ritsuka despite there being a servant with her.

“So another little human has managed to survive.” Her hands seemed to wrap around a statue that was forever terrified. 

“That caster isn’t going to let me in close, but I wonder how well he will deal with my Lance of Immortal Killing?” There was no way to twist that into sounding anything good. 

“Of all the servants to run into, its the one that will definitely cause the most trouble for me.” Caster hit his staff on the ground and the area around it seemed to pulse . 

“So that would be a true caster, huh? Well the enemy of my enemy isn’t necessarily my ally but I think I’d rather be allies with you folk.” Blue, all Ritsuka could see was blue. From his hair to his outfit, the man was blue. 

“We’ll talk more after we manage to get rid of her.” It seems that it was time for the first true battle of this singularity. 


	2. Time to Say Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Don't own Fate

Chapter 2

What was he doing? He had just meant to save Ritsuka from the fate that awaited her. Becoming her servant wasn’t part of the plan but everything was going wrong from the appearance of that boy to Ritsuka, herself, being caught in the blast. Now they had to deal with Medusa who would happily turn them all to stone, much like she had done to the boy who ruined any of her faith in humanity.

Her hate was almost suffocating, and it was disgusting but it was reassuring she had yet to realize that she had already been caught in his illusion from the moment he spoke. It would be for the best if Cu Chulainn took lead in this fight.

Purple eyes glanced to the petite red head next to him who looked ready to help at a moment’s notice. She was strong he would give her that, especially with the mana transfer still in effect. However, no human was a match for a servant, especially one with divinity. And even with his healing capabilities, the damage from the explosion had left her at death’s door.

“Leave this to Cu Chulainn. Even I can’t heal the wounds that lance causes.” Also, it would kill him, which is something he’d rather avoid for many reasons. Who better to take out a lancer than someone who is naturally called as a lancer.

Pulling both Ritsuka and Olga away from the battle, it was all Cu could do to avoid her lance. Thankfully the illusion had caused MedusaLancer to forget about all existences around her except for Cu Chulainn.

It would be fine. Cu Chulainn was more than enough to beat Medusa on his own, before…no there was no time to think about that. His first concern should be keeping his impulsive little master from trying to help.

It wasn’t from a desire to ‘save’ everyone but to help those before her. It was amplified human instinct to protect those before you. Still not best to let her get tempted while both of them were vulnerable to that lance?

The more concerning problem was the sheer level of hate directed at Ritsuka. It wasn’t from the archer that attacked before. His attack wasn’t even truly directed at Ritsuka but something else. There had been nothing around Ritsuka but darkness and fire.

No matter, it would be solved eventually. Olga Marie would follow them for her own safety but moving Ritsuka easily would be the bigger problem. The most logical way would be to take the choice from her.

Gold eyes peered up at him in surprise as soon as she found herself in his arms. Merlin needed to make sure he moved at what would be considered a human speed so Olga Marie could keep up.

“The safest place for us now would be the school. I’ll give my formal introduction there.” With two casters it would get confusing besides Romani needed the distraction from the chaos surrounding him so if berating him would do it then it was worth it. Merlin didn’t wait for Olga Marie to respond. He didn’t have to for her own safety she would follow.

Thankfully the school wasn’t far from their previous position, so they reached it with little trouble. As he set his burden down, he was prepared to get yell at but all he received was a pout and the back of a tiny figure stomping into the building. Well that was unexpected.

Both Merlin and Olga Marie were more than happy to follow the sullen girl inside before any more servants decided to appear. Ritsuka hadn’t gone far finding sanctuary in a classroom on the first floor.

“I believe I said I would give a formal introduction so here goes. I am Merlin, magus of flowers and best-“

“There’s no way you’re Merlin!” And there it was. Romani had been too quiet for his normal chatterbox self. Though that was a better version than the machine he could become. Though Ritsuka and Olga jumped with Romani’s yell.

“Dr. Roman what do you mean? If he says he’s Merlin than he has to be Merlin.”

“Merlin is not supposed to be a servant. Until the end of the world, he’s supposed to remain in the Tower of Avalon watching over humanity.”

“The only humanity left is right here isn’t it?” That seemed to quiet Romani as he disappeared with his grumbling the only thing left.

“So, you’re Merlin. Someone…liked to read me stories of the Arthurian legends. They were all over the place when it came to you.” Someone? It wouldn’t have been surprising if she didn’t trust him yet, probably better for everyone that she didn’t.

It was a sudden pain in his cheek that sent him flying to the ground. Merlin understood Cath Palug’s anger at being thrown from the tower, but he only had the one small window and greeting him this way every time was getting tiresome. The surprisingly heavy weight on his chest disappeared as soon as it appeared. Much to Merlin’s surprise Cath Palug was immediately in the arms of Ritsuka, happily cuddling her as if greeting an old friend. A light blush took over her face as she stared between Cath Palug and Merlin.

“I’m going to go see if there if any edible food in the cafeteria!” Ritsuka was almost a blur as she took off in a random direction. That was…odd. He could feel her embarrassment but why on earth was she embarrassed? Oh well, this made it easier to take care of the next thing.

“Director why don’t we wait for Ritsuka on the roof?” The director gave her assent as she followed Merlin to the roof. It was only three flights of stairs so it didn’t take very long.

“Have you noticed yet Director?” This would be much easier if she did but given the stress of the situation it wouldn’t be surprising if she hadn’t.

“Noticed what Merlin?!” Her emotions were all over the place stressed, fearful, angry and so many others. They were not his preferred emotions, but he was running low and that was not good for anyone.

“You and Ritsuka were both in the explosion and yet you look untouched compared to Ritsuka. Why is that?” Even Romani was silent as the weight of what Merlin had said filled the air. Olga Marie was an intelligent young girl and Merlin could see the gears in her head turning. Romani probably already knew but didn’t know how to tell her.

“No…that…I can’t..why?” Nobody deserved to know that they were killed at the hands of someone they loved for no other reason than spite. So, he wouldn’t tell her that. At the end of the day, it would just cause Olga Marie more pain and prevent her from gaining any peace in her death.

This one small girl had been forced to bear a burden much to large for her shoulders, much like another young girl he once knew. Olga Marie looked up when she felt a hand on her head. The tears just wouldn’t stop as she realized her fate.

“You did well, outshining everyone’s expectations. Now its time for you to rest.” Though the tears were still falling down her face, the smile that had found its way on to Olga Marie’s face shone brightly. Her body glowed gently before dissolving into petals and blowing away with the wind.

“I’m back and I found food.” The door slammed open due to Ritsuka’s arms being full and Cath Palug taking his place on her shoulder. It was time to face the music. Just how would she react knowing that he had extinguished the director’s life?

“I didn’t find to many non-perishables but there was a little bit.” She said as she sorted things out, “Why are you looking at me like that? I prefer to punch, not bite. Even then its only those who deserve it get receive it.” No suspicions and no anger, what was wrong with this girl? Why had she yet to comment on Olga Marie’s disappearance.

“Eat quickly. The grail can only be protected for so long.” A darkness of self-justification and warped affection was circling the grail. Only the light of victory seemed to repel it. Though it was just a candle compared to the shining beacon it was supposed to be.

Thankfully Ritsuka finished her food quickly and after a quick nap, both were off for the holy grail. Merlin knew what awaited them at the grail. It wasn’t something he wanted to see personally but it needed to be done. At least this time the poor girl, Olga Marie, wouldn’t meet a fate worse than death this time around. Purple eyes glanced to the tiny mage who was walking close to him. He was honestly expecting her to hate him for Olga Marie’s ‘death’ but she had yet to say a word about it. In fact, she had been staying closer to him since then.

Thankfully Cu Chulainn was keeping the red Archer busy while they dealt with the ‘source’ of the problems of this singularity. A small armored figure awaited him consumed and corrupted by shadow.

“Artoria.” This was not what he wanted for her. Gold eyes widened at his appearance completely ignoring Ritsuka. Good let Artoria focus her wrath on him and not the innocent girl next to him. The clank of armor as Artoria made her way towards them seem to echo in the still air.

What seemed like an eternity took only moments as Artoria finally reached them. Her eyes had never left his, her whole walk to them. Merlin was not expecting her next words.

“Merlin, help me.”

He could feel the corruption eating at her and it was only by the strength of her will that she had yet to succumb. Had she been waiting for someone to relieve her from her duty?

“Sorry for making you wait for so long. Avalon is waiting for you along with someone else.” The Red Archer had fallen to Cu Chulainn and had been granted passage thanks to his stalwart protection of Artoria. That smile was not one he had seen since before Artoria had made the choice that broke her. How he had missed it.

“Why don’t you come out from hiding now? Your attacks on Ritsuka haven’t worked so far, and they won’t, you artificial Beast.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do have a tumblr if you want to check out where I get a bit vocal on my fate opinions.
> 
> https://lilysilvergarden.tumblr.com/


	3. Chapter 3

Who was Merlin talking to? Even Fou was growling into the open. His fur somehow got even fluffier as it brushed her arms. This city was so creepy. Fuyuki wasn’t supposed to be like this..why did she think that?

“It’s coming.” That sounded ominous. Was it another corrupted servant, a shadow servant or a 600 ft beast?

“Fou!” 

“Fou where are you going?” That was odd. Why couldn’t she catch him?

“Don’t worry about Cath Palug. He’s more than capable of taking care of himself. It is we who are in danger.” Merlin kept saying that but Ritsuka couldn’t sense anything or even see anything with her reinforced eyes. She didn’t think he was wrong but….it was unsettling to not know what to do. Something shifted at the edge of her vision.

“Merlin!”

Lavender eyes opened. Around him was nothing but darkness moving like water, the screams of suffering echoing. Merlin let out a deep sigh as he remembered the panicked gold eyes as the Shadow descended upon both of them.

“I have to hurry. Ritsuka can stay herself in the Grail for a while but not long enough.” He needed to find what had been trapped. 

“Now how to get there. I could swim….however walking is always preferable.” A simple wave of his staff and a flower path leading to the darkest depths of the grail.

Ritsuka didn’t like this place. She didn’t like the screams or the ghostly feeling of hands grasping at her pulling her deeper into the darkness. Where was Merlin? Why did she always end up alone?

“I’m scared.” Ritsuka couldn’t remember the last time she admitted she had been scared. Even nearly dying in the explosion hadn’t been as scary as this. This….this was a slow death meant to torture. 

“I can’t think with all of you screaming!” Dead silence. To be honest, she didn’t think that would work. Not that she was going to say that out loud lest it return with a vengeance. Next problem: how to stop sinking deeper and try to get to where that ring of light was.

While the screaming had stopped, it hadn’t stopped the hands from grabbing at her. Where they were wrapped around her ankles began to burn, almost as if they were trying to fuse into her skin. 

No! She wouldn’t sink into oblivion. Images flew in her head of children dying without being given the chance to live, quiet voices filled with ambition and greed resounding in her ears. Why did this place look familiar to her?

She could feel it trying to devour her. Whatever had held it back before was no longer doing it. 

Then there was light. Both the image in her mind and around her the light seemed to shine brighter and all it touched it burned. Except for Ritsuka, the light felt like much it would nice sunny day, warm but not at all painful. 

The multiple hands that had been grabbing her had burned away to ash, only to be replaced by two hands that held her gently.A new scream entered the fray though it felt closer and more human than the wailing of the darkness. Unlike the voiceless screams of the darkness, it was feminine mixed with fear and desperation. Gold eyes opened to see what a young woman with white hair and a black dress in front of her screaming in pain was as she tried to get away from the light. The very same girl she saw just before the darkness surrounded her and Merlin. Merlin!? Was he still trapped in the darkness?

“Who are you?!”

“It’s not fair! Haven’t I already suffered enough! I didn’t do anything wrong!” The girl in front of her screamed. Merlin had said something about self-justification, was this what he meant?

“Are you behind this? This destruction, the dead.” 

Red eyes, crazed with pain, glared at her with nothing less than pure hatred. It was all this girl’s fault! She shouldn’t exist. It was her sister’s fault that she had killed the man she loved. This girl didn’t have the right to exist. 

“It’s not fair that I’m the only one to have suffered. Why shouldn’t I have let others know what suffering is? It’s only fair that my sister suffers everything I have. Its only fair that no one is allowed to feel love and joy because I haven't.” Now if only this light would go away so she could end this abomination’s life.

“Child of Apophis, you seek to steal from the Sun and bring about your predecessor’s desires and ambitions.” The man holding her was fairly tall, with an olive skin tone and very little clothing that left his muscular physique show. What really got her attention was that he shared the same dark red hair and gold eyes that she had.

The young woman looked ready to argue back however the man cut her off with only a dark look before any more of her insanity could spill out. 

“There are no words that can excuse your crimes. Shall I list them? The countless murders of innocents, bringing chaos to the land, and the worst of them all trying to kill the child of a king.” A giant bow appeared in his hand when something caught Ritsuka’s eyes.

“Merlin!” He was safe and he seemed to have brought someone with him. 

“Sun King, I hear your words however I cannot let you punish this girl as you please as she has committed crimes against myself as well that she must answer for.” Ritsuka had never seen someone so shiny in her life. 

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to ask me questions or message me on my tumblr at Serahfalconn


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